November 2017
Japanese space industrial policy in transition
... the current Japanese space industry because there is too much risk in challenging the NewSpace economy with a small satellite constellation or recycling the first stage of a launch vehicle. Instead, the Vision targets niche technologies and services...
November 2018
Monitoring illegal rainforest deforestation
... occurs at 5.5 km from roads and about 1 km from rivers The proposed operational system will be composed of a constellation of small satellites in low inclination orbits to cover the equatorial belt as illustrated opposite. A constellation...
January 2019
Engineering six-hour solar eclipses with formation flying
... in the mid-1990s (within the Technology, Engineering and Quality Directorate) with the aim of developing small satellites dedicated to technology demonstrations. Up to now, three Proba missions have been successfully launched and operated, starting...
March 2021
iPhone moment for the Earth observation industry
... the price of EO data, geopolitical needs or new technological advancement leading to the availability of a new type of data. Small satellite constellations are on the rise, which will produce more data, but it is plausible that the focus will ...
July 2021
Nitrous oxide – a green propellant for commercial space exploration
... Volans, which is slated for its first launch in Q3 of 2023. The concept of a multi-purpose propulsion system for small satellites using nitrous oxide as the main propellant has also been suggested. This multi-purpose propulsion system...
12 August 2019
Communicating water-powered CubeSats tested in space by NASA
... successfully completed. Collecting data while whizzing round Earth is one thing, but a common challenge when developing small-satellite-borne Earth Observation (EO) missions is getting that data to the ground. Transmitting data via radio frequencies...
